More than 50 union leaders attended our 3,000 Strong United Together Leadership Conference in Lincoln from November 15-17, 2024. New leaders joined veteran leaders to sharpen their skills to assist union members in the workplace and grow our union for more power at the bargaining table.
Leaders were trained on our union contract and basic member representation, learned how to solve workplace problems, and how our member-led union functions. They also completed Volunteer Member Organizer (VMO) training in order to have effective one-on-one conversations with their colleagues.
After a long day of training on Saturday, members came together to watch the Husker football team take on the University of Southern California Trojans. While the game didn’t go the Husker’s way, our leaders got to meet fellow members who traveled to Lincoln from Falls City and Chadron and everywhere in between.
“I thought it was great that we got such in-depth training on the role of a union steward in the discipline process,” said Kelly Kopejtka, a Program Accuracy Specialist for DHHS in Fremont. “I came away from the weekend feeling more confident in my ability to be a strong leader at work and step up in those discipline processes if necessary.”
On Sunday, participants attended breakout sessions on grievance handling, preventing harassment in the workplace, and annual performance evaluation requirements. They also made phone calls to some of their colleagues to practice the one-on-one conversation skills they learned during VMO training. Some even got their colleagues to join our union!
Everyone left feeling motivated and ready to step into their new roles as workplace leaders. It’s more important than ever that we have a strong force of leaders to help educate their colleagues about union business, especially as we continue fighting to make our contract negotiations priorities a reality.
Are you ready to become a union leader? Keep an eye out for future training opportunities in 2025. In the meantime, you can lead in small but very important ways by bringing a colleague to a union meeting, encouraging non-members in your workplace to join, and engaging with our social media posts to help spread the word about our union victories.
